Biohazard: Unmasked
by So Im Marky
Summary: Part one of the Unmasked Trilogy. A story of the mask being lifted, and true evil being revealed. TerraSave holds a convention at a New York University, but unfortunately for Claire, things do not go as planned. A viral outbreak occurs, sending the campus into a frenzy. Soon the BSAA is on location with a plan of rescue, but old faces resurface causing trouble for everyone.
1. Prologue

Prologue

September 14th, 2006

Tricell Inc. Facility

10:48 p.m.

No one here truly appreciated his work. Of course they praised his genius and congratulated him on his successes, but it was all a facade. He knew exactly what he was to them, just a lowly researcher here for their bidding. It was a role that he had grown to accept over time though; he knew that going along with their outrageous orders would most likely guarantee his survival at the end of each day. As long as he received the cash he didn't care how evil the job was. Hell, he'd even been working within the black market for bio-weapons for several years now.

That was how he got involved with Tricell to begin with. It all began with his work as a head researcher for a separate company. It was there that he first gained access to a plethora of virus samples: T, G, and the T-Veronica Virus. This was the beginning of his black market dealing. Then, in 2004 the company brought in something new, something different.

It was a parasite called the Las Plagas.

Just before Irving began work with the parasite, his job with the company was promptly terminated. His dealings within the black market had been discovered, leading to his immediate termination. Irving knew all too well that the company planned to terminate more than just his job, leading him to take matters into his own hands. He managed to escape before they could take him out, and he didn't leave empty handed. He made off with a sample of the parasite and sold it to the highest bidder on the market: Tricell Inc.

Irving received not only a large sum of money for the exchange but he was also given a job with the company. Soon he was relocated to Africa with orders to begin work on the Plaga sample with the CEO of Tricell's African division, Excella Gionne. Together they would work towards creating a brand new breed of Bio Organic Weapon and subsequently selling it to the bioterrorist organizations within the country. Together they would make each other's dreams come true.

Irving had finally found his one true calling.

He had been in Africa for six weeks and had yet to crack the spine on his research. Irving was beginning to get antsy, leaving him irritated with his boss, Excella. While he enjoyed her exotic beauty, and almost effortless sex appeal, he enjoyed working more. He enjoyed making money more.

"Look, boss, I'm gonna need to know whens' were gonna start some real work here." Driving across the long dirt roads he kept his grip on the steering wheel firm and glanced over to his passenger, "I'm just getting a little antsy for it. I wanna see whats' we can do together."

"Please, Irving, keep your eyes on the road! You could get us killed if you keep driving like this." Her accent was even beginning to get on his nerves at this point. He really was beginning to get anxious for his work. Rolling her eyes Excella then turned her head to observe the horizon from her window, it was obvious to Irving that she had no intention of acknowledging, much less answering his questions. Instead, she had one of her own, "Have you heard back from the states yet, Irving, my dear?"

"Yea, yea. Everything is all set. Just waiting for a confirmation call saying it's all done." He decided he would keep his questions to himself for the time being, even if it pissed him off. Her focus was elsewhere. Excella had been referring to a job he was instructed to take care of just before leaving for Africa.

Excella turned from the window and smiled, "Good. He will be extremely pleased. Soon no one will be able to get in the way of our research."

She was talking about "Him" again. Since he had boarded the plane to Africa he had been hearing of this mysterious man. Obviously, whoever it was, he had some form of power within the company. Irving had been told of outlandish plans, one being to create a new species of man. Irving called bullshit the second he heard it, insulting Excella on what seemed to be a very personal level. It made Irving wonder if she had something for the man she was always speaking of. That would explain a few things.

Just as the car came to a stop outside of the research facility, Irving now called his home, he received a call. His phone only rang once before he answered, "Irving here." The message on the other end was short, and to the point. It put a smile on his face. "Thank you fellas, enjoy the reward." Irving snapped the phone shut and threw his hands in the air, "YES! It is done baby! Sounds like they are gonna be having a fireworks show! BOOM!" He couldn't help but to let out a long laugh. Things were really working in their favor now.

Who said the bad guys couldn't win?

Excella stepped out of the car and took in a deep breath. She smiled, "Good, now we begin our work, it won't be long before he is here."


	2. Chapter One: Perfect Day

A.N. I hope that you all will enjoy this chapter! We are now getting into the actual story! I am so happy to have a story that I have fleshed out beginning to end, and I really hope that you all can see how much work I have put into this story. Let me know what you think of what you read! Thank you again everyone. [:

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><p>Chapter One: Perfect Day<p>

September 14th, 2006

Wellington University

New York

4:46 p.m.

It was a beautiful snow day in New York and Claire Redfield couldn't have been happier about it. Her walk through Wellington University's snow covered campus was one that brought a smile to her face. Seeing the students play in the snow reminded her that you never fully grow up. In fact, if her schedule for the day had not been so packed she would be rolling in the snow as well. It would be just like she used to do with Chris when she was a kid.

Claire had to let go of those childish thoughts for now though, she had a meeting with the president of the university. She had been so lost in thought that she didn't even realize she had arrived at the admissions office already. It was all business from there on out. The redheaded beauty slipped off her coat and held it in her arms as she approached the receptionist's desk. Announcing herself Claire pulled her ID badge from a back pocket and presented it to the women behind the desk. "My name is Claire Redfield, I'm here to see Mr. Wellington. He should be expecting me."

"Of course, Ms. Redfield, will it be only you?"

"Yes, the others are already setting up in the lecture hall for the assembly."

"Okay, I will let him know that you are here. It should only be a few minutes. He is very excited that you and your organization are here with us today."

Claire gave the women a smile and stepped away from the desk. While she waited for her appointment to begin she checked her phone, making sure that no one from her team had tried to contact her. She didn't have any messages, which meant one of two things. Either they were doing great and nothing was wrong, or they had messed up so bad that they were too afraid to let Claire know. '_Please be the first one, please be the first one.' _ She repeated that thought a few more times, she almost prayed about it even.

The day needed to go perfectly. TerraSave's annual leaders' meeting was being held; all of the founders, including Claire, would be sitting down and planning the next calendar year for the company. This year things were slightly different though. TerraSave had hopes of bringing in a few new sponsors, Mr. Wellington being the first on their list for hopeful sponsors. With donations from people like Mr. Wellington, the company would have a chance to expand itself to newer, better horizons.

Claire had just finished having her inner break down when her phone rang, _'Shit.'_ She cursed to herself; worried it was someone from her team letting her know the whole thing was falling apart. She was wrong though; instead it was a number that she did not recognize.

"Ms. Redfield, " It was the receptionist returning from the back offices, "he'll be right up to get you."

Claire nodded in acknowledgment and slid her phone back into her pocket; she didn't have time to take any unknown callers at the moment. She had to seal a deal with an old friend. Soon Mr. Eric Wellington was in the reception area greeting Claire with a hug. From what she could tell, he had not changed a bit.

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><p>"Goodness gracious, Claire, what has it been, nine years almost?" Mr. Wellington let out a laugh as he sat back into his rather large brown leather chair. He sat behind a nice mahogany desk decorated with several family photographs and very neatly stacked papers. He also had an open calendar displayed with several little notes written in on most of the dates, her name included. Except her name was circled and written much larger than the other notes. "Before you say anything though, Claire, I want to say thank you for bringing TerraSave here today, I really do believe that the students will show a real interest in what you guys are all about."<p>

"Thank you sir, we are beyond grateful for you letting us come here today, and it's nice to be somewhere familiar. Even if I didn't finish my degree." Wellington University had been the school Claire attended before the Raccoon City incident, before bioterrorism became a real threat to the world. Mr. Wellington had offered for her to come back several times since leaving, he believed that she could do great things with the medical degree that she once pursued. Claire declined though, taking down Umbrella had been her priority at the time, and now nine years later she just didn't have the time to return. TerraSave was her priority now.

"Anytime Claire, and you already know this, but our doors are always open to you. Everything would be taken care of."

Claire couldn't help but to let out a small laugh, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, but I believe I am where I am supposed to be. I like helping people the way I do now. Which brings me to what I wanted to speak to you about." Claire reached into her briefcase and pulled out a manila folder. Inside the folder were papers detailing TerraSave's current funding, as well as what they hoped to have in the upcoming year. Claire handed the folder to Mr. Wellington and began her pitch, "TerraSave is actually looking to bring in a few new sponsors this upcoming year. We want to open our very own training facility, so that we do not have to rely so much on the government providing us with a space to train our new recruits. The records I just handed you show that investing with us could prove to be a great move for the univers-"

"We would love to, Claire." Mr. Wellington had interrupted her, he didn't need to hear anything more, "I had a feeling that this was one of the reason you were coming to speak with me and I did my research. I agree with you, teaming with TerraSave could be a great investment for the school. Also, I believe that we have a perfect plot of land here on campus that you could build your training facility on. That is if you are interested, of course."

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><p>Things had gone amazingly well for Claire and she was ecstatic about it. Not only had she been able to lock down a new sponsor for TerraSave, but she had also gotten them a plot of land to build their needed training facility. The other leaders would be thrilled with the news. All that was left was for the assembly to go off without any problems and it would be a perfect day. Luckily for Claire the assembly hall looked amazing; everyone on her team had done a beautiful job of setting up.<p>

With only a few moments before the assembly actually began Claire stepped up to the podium that her team had assembled and took a look at the crowd. Almost every seat was filled, most of which were pre-med or science majors, exactly the kinds of young people that TerraSave could utilize for the future of the company. She knew that TerraSave had made the right decision in trusting her with this. She could see a long and bright future for TerraSave at Wellington.

"Hello everyone and thank you for coming today. We are here to talk to all of you about TerraSave. We are a non-governmental human rights organization. Our goal is to provide aid during bioterrorism and medical-related incidents. I am thrilled to see such an amazing turn out today, and I hope that each and every one of you can take something from this today. Any one of you could do something huge for the world, and it just might be with TerraSave. We look forward to helping you become the best that you can be. Thank you again for your time, and enjoy! Now here is Yoko Suzuki, a fellow leader and founder of TerraSave, to explain further what today is all about."

Claire waved to the crowd as she stepped away from the podium and slipped behind the curtains her team had set up behind her. She made sure that the back door was always in her sight, in case she needed a way out at any time. It was a habit she had picked up since Raccoon City. Claire believed that everyone who survived that place took something away like that. The horrifying memories from that night started to play through her head as she stared idly out the window of the back door. That was when she saw him, Ark Thompson.

'_What are you doing here?'_ Claire couldn't believe that she had just seen Ark walking down the hall outside the assembly room. Just as she started toward the back door her phone buzzed. _'Shit.'_ With everything going on today Claire had completely forgotten about her mysterious caller from earlier. The redhead pulled her phone out to reveal a 'New Voicemail' notification on the home screen. Heading towards the back door again she pulled up the voicemail. She could listen and catch up to Ark at the same time.

Outside of the assembly hall she had already taken two left turns and was now in the entrance hall of the building when the voicemail began to play. It was a man's voice on the other end of the line, a voice she had never heard before.

"You really should have answered your phone Ms. Redfield. I am calling to warn you about the university. You need to get out, you and the rest of TerraSave. Get out now, while you still have the chance."

That definitely just shit on her perfect day.

Was it some kind of joke, or worse, was it serious? Claire had no idea what to think yet, but maybe Ark did. It just seemed a little too suspicious that he would show up on a day like this. Claire slid the phone back into her pocket and continued toward Ark.

Then she heard the first scream.

It came from her left, Claire turned to see a girl running through the double door entrance, still screaming uncontrollably. Her clothes were torn and stained red with blood. There was no telling if the blood was hers or not. Before she could even think, another student burst through the double doors, but he was different. His clothes were torn, but he wasn't screaming. Instead he had his arms, scratched and bloodied, reached out before him. His mouth split open, sending blood everywhere, and let out a deep growl as he lunged forward towards the screaming girl just a few feet from Claire.

The students in the hall were immediately sent into frenzy. No one knew where to go and the scene in front of Claire was only getting worse. Claire didn't have time to panic, not if she wanted to live. Survival mode had just kicked into gear, "Everyone, run! This way, let's go!" Claire waved her arms, and continued to yell directions over the chaos in the hall. She was not going to let these students die.

BAM! BAM!

Two gunshots rang through the hall and both of the bloodied students went down. Claire turned and saw that it was a familiar face with the gun in hand. Even in all the chaos Ark Thompson was able to make two clear shots. He nodded and extended a hand, "Leon sent me. We should talk." Claire and Ark both knew that it wouldn't be long before more of the infected started to show, they needed to move and fast.


End file.
